"Who knows."
"If there's a war between the US and China, Singapore will be in trouble."
"You may be right. The Chinese are smart. They've been around for thousands of years. They've had their ups and downs. For many years under Communism, they were down, but they're getting stronger now. They will do what they need to go to be on top again."
He sounded more like a Chinese nationalist than a Singaporean. The woman who complained about mainland Chinese also said the US should get out of the Western Pacific.
Two days after I left, there was a surprise announcement that Xi Jinping and Ma Ying-jeou would meet in Singapore. This was the first ever encounter between the leaders of China and Taiwan, and they shook hand for 80 seconds, the press was careful to point out. Xi had lunch with Singapore's Loong, then dinner with Ying-jeou at a Cantonese restaurant, with each picking up his own tab to avoid any big brother, little brother implication. At an earlier speech, Xi praised Lee Kuan Yew as a great statesman. (In 2007, Lee said of Xi, "I would put him in Nelson Mandela's class of persons. A person with enormous emotional stability who does not allow his personal misfortunes or sufferings to affect his judgement. In other words, he is impressive.") The day came off as one big Chinese family reunion.
Though internally safe, Singapore is situated at the most dangerous spot geopolitically. On top of that, it is threatened by a global trade slowdown, an imminent banking implosion and the rising sea. Will it become a Chinese outpost or be obliterated? Will it overcome all obstacles to celebrate a centenary?
(Article changed on November 9, 2015 at 21:27)
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